Elderly couple displaced by South Shores house fire

Feb. 13--DECATUR -- Neighbors came to the rescue Sunday afternoon when fire caused severe damage to a Decatur home.

Gene and Bernice Bohannon, a couple in their 80s, were struggling to get clear as flames ripped through the rear of their home at 18 4th Drive at 2:18 p.m.

Their neighbor from across the street, Wanda Nelson, saw them and, accompanied by her mother, rushed over to assist. "They were coming out real slow and we wanted to hurry up and get them away from there because we were worried something would blow up," Nelson said.

Gene Bohannon uses a walker to get around, and Nelson said she knew they would need help to get clear. "There was thick black, black smoke and those flames were just a poppin'. The couple looked shaken up."

The Bohannons sat in Nelson's yard, huddled under borrowed blankets and, while they have insurance, their house was left uninhabitable; the American Red Cross was assisting them with emergency accommodation.

Nelson described the couple as "real sweet people" and said she checks on them regularly, drops in to "to pray with them" and takes them occasional meals. "I just got a heart for elderly people," she added.

Todd McKenzie, Decatur Fire Department battalion chief, said it took fire crews about 10 minutes to knock down the blaze. He said it appeared to start at the rear porch area of the one-story house and had spread into the structure, causing severe damage, as well as badly burning a garage and the car inside it.

"Our big thing was to make sure it didn't extend into the house any further and to also make sure it didn't reach any of the houses on either side," added McKenzie. He said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

The Bohannon's daughter, Gina Bohannon, said her parents "had no idea" how the blaze started and were now left with little more than the clothes they had on. The family would welcome donations of male clothes in 4X big and tall, and female clothes in size 1X and 2X. They also need shoes in size 14X extra wide for her father, and 5.5 to size 6 for her mom, plus winter coats.

If you can help, call (217) 520-0463.

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